Arizona, New Mexico wildfire crews in NYC

More than 150 Arizona and New Mexico firefighters are on site helping clean up the aftermath of superstorm Sandy.

The crews that helped battle a severe summer of wildfires across the west are now in some ways dealing with similar circumstances on the East Coast.

“Especially when it comes to removing debris and downed trees,” said Cathie Schmidlin with the U.S. Forest Service. “A lot of our crews are used to being self-sufficient and they’re able to take care of themselves on fires. This is going to be a similar case.”

Schmidlin said 100 firefighters sent to the east will be operating chain saws. The wildfire crews are made up of personnel from the USFS, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and National Park Service along with state agencies and local fire departments.

Schmidlin said there’s no timetable on when the crews will return to the southwest.